In this episode of Franciscan Fridays, Brother Pius Gagné and Father Luke Mary Fletcher reflect on the 5th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary — the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple — and how it speaks deeply to the experience of spiritual desolation, dryness in prayer, and the feeling that Jesus is missing.

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Have you ever felt like your prayers were going nowhere, or that God was distant? You're not alone. Drawing on Ignatian spirituality, Carmelite mystics, and personal stories, our friars explore:

Why God sometimes feels far away

The value of perseverance in prayer during difficult times

How to offer even your spiritual "nothing" to God

The wisdom of the saints on detachment and faith in darkness

What the Holy Family teaches us about trust, searching, and surrender

📍 Filmed at the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Warren County, NJ — a little piece of Portugal in America.